And Forgive Us Our Trespasses
by Irish Rose1
Summary: In this sequel to Aftermath, it's sixteen years later and Danny McCawley learns the truth.
1. Default Chapter

This story is a continuation of Aftermath. 

They knew it could happen, but Rafe and Evelyn McCawley had wanted to tell their oldest son about his parentage when they felt he was old enough. They hadn't counted on him overhearing a conversation and now it was time to explain to him about how he came to be.

**********

The screen door banged shut as Danny McCawley left his parents alone in the front parlor.

Rafe McCawley watched his eldest son walk away and he sighed because for the first time in sixteen years, he felt like a fraud. The knowledge of his best friend and his girl had hurt him deeply, but in his death had given Rafe the responsibility of his child. And even before he'd married Evelyn, her baby had become his. 

They'd had two children of their own after they'd returned to Tennessee and for anyone who cared to observe, the two younger McCawley children were treated no differently than their older brother. But there was a closeness between Rafe and Danny that was the envy of many fathers and sons in Shelby. 

He was brought back to the present by the feel of Evelyn's arms around his waist. Her head was on his shoulder and she sighed as well. "We knew this day could come Rafe." Her voice was barely above a whisper and he could feel her tremble against him. "We just thought we'd be able to tell him."

A tear rolled down his cheek and he sighed again. "He's my son damn it! He's always been my son!"

"I know Rafe and in his heart Danny does too. We just have to give him some time to take it all in." She tried to reassure him.

The sound of the crop duster being started up got Rafe and Evelyn to the door. He was out on the porch and ran toward the barn. _He ain't supposed to be flyin' by himself yet! _He'dtaken his son up with him for the first time when he was three years old and after that, Rafe couldn't keep him away. 

He stood and watched helplessly as Danny took the plane down the rough dirt runway and lifted into the sky. _Don't let anythin' happen to him. _He said almost as a prayer.

Evelyn had followed her husband out to the barn and when she'd caught up to him, tucked her hand through his arm. "You taught him to fly Rafe, he'll be all right."

"How can you be so damn calm about this?"

"Because he's like you. Once he's up in the air, his instinct takes over and all he thinks about is flying. Come on, let's go inside. He needs some time to himself to sort all of this out."

Rafe nodded and took Evelyn's hand and walked with her back to the house, but not before he took a last look over his shoulder to see the plane that had become a speck on the horizon.

Danny Walker was in his usual spot.

He'd watched his only child grow up with the two people he'd cared about the most in his life and he'd been happier than he ever thought possible.

He knew Rafe would love the boy as his own but now that his son knew the truth about the man he'd always believed to be his father, Danny worried that the relationship between the two would be irreparably damaged. And he was powerless to help.

"How's it going Danny?" Anthony Fusco joined him and frowned. 

"It ain't good Anthony. Danny knows that Rafe ain't his daddy." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

He nodded. "We heard. But you knew that this could happen."

"Yea. But I was really hopin' that Danny would get through his life without ever havin' any doubt's that he was Rafe's son."

"I'm sorry Danny." He said and put a hand on his friend's shoulder to try and comfort him in some way. 

"Me too. What's worse is that there ain't anythin' I can do to help."

Anthony looked at his friend. "You helped them once before or have you forgotten."

"I ain't forgotten anythin' and I know what you're talkin' about. But now ain't the time because this is somethin' that's between Rafe and Danny and they need to work it out without any interference from me."

"I think you could help."

Danny shook his head. "All I'd do is complicate matters." And when he tried to press the issue Danny cut him off. "Leave it alone Anthony, this is somethin' that's between them and they have to work it out themselves."

"You could talk to Evelyn." Anthony wasn't going to give up.

He was incredulous. 'That would _really_ help things, wouldn't it? I could go talk to Evelyn when I'm the one responsible for Danny not bein' Rafe's."

"I'm only trying to help."

Danny sighed. "I know that and I'm tryin' to tell you that the best way that _I_ can help is to stay out of it. Rafe is the only daddy that Danny knows and this is something that a father and a son have to work through." 

"All right Danny, whatever you say." Anthony relented.

"Thank you." And he sighed as he watched Rafe and Evelyn go back into the house.

Supper had been achingly awkward. 

Danny had come back in time for the evening meal and refused to look at either of his parents. Thomas and Sarah McCawley had been told about the situation and tried to carry on as normally as possible. Their grandson had been dealt a blow and they wanted him to know that nothing had changed. 

When the meal was finished, Danny left the house. Rafe followed him as far as the front door and watched him go. He sighed and could feel the tears gather in his eyes. His son was in a lot of pain and there wasn't anything he could do to help him.

"Come on son, let's go outside." Thomas had come up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

They walked out on to the front porch and sat down on the swing. Thomas lit his pipe and he sat with his only son and watched as Danny sat down in front of the marker.

"Just love him son, he'll be all right." 

"I don't know Daddy. I grew up never havin' any doubts that I was your son. Danny don't have that anymore."

"Rafe, until now Danny never had any doubts that you were his daddy. You never treated him any differently than you treated Sarah or Joseph and he knows that. What you _did _do was treat him like your first born and he knows that too."

"I hope you're right Daddy." Rafe sighed.

"Give him time son, give him time." Thomas said as he puffed on his pipe and they sat together in the evening twilight and watched Rafe's oldest son at Danny Walker's marker.


	2. Making Sense Of It All

Evelyn sat on the swing while she patched yet another hole in her eldest son's dungarees. She didn't know what he was doing to wear them out and she shook her head as she looked up and watched Sarah and Joseph with their father. Neither of her two younger children had taken to flying like Danny had and she realized they were _her_ children in that respect. 

It had become a tradition that Rafe would take her up and fly over Shelby on their anniversary. It would be at the very hour that they were married and it always amazed Evelyn that he remembered that detail. But that was the only time that she would go up with him because Rafe had a passion to fly that Evelyn couldn't comprehend. The main reason she flew with him every year was that she got to sit in his lap, that was always her favorite part.

He'd taken the two younger children up with him when they weren't much older than Danny had been, but neither had liked being so far off the ground and Danny would always tell them they didn't know what they were missing. _Danny._

It had been a week since he'd overheard his parents and not for the first time since then had Evelyn wanted to kick herself for being so careless. When the subject of Danny Walker had ever come up, she and Rafe had always been careful when they spoke of him in front of the children. They knew that Danny had been their father's childhood friend and a pilot and that he'd been killed in the war.

But now that the cat was finally out of the bag, Sarah and Joseph had a right to know what was going on. She and Rafe had asked his parents to take Danny into town to see a movie so they could talk to the other children about what had happened. 

Rafe brought them up on the porch as Evelyn stood up. "Come on you two, let's go inside. Daddy and I have something that we need to talk to you about." She told them as she closed her sewing basket and folded Danny's dungarees on top.

Rafe opened the screen door and waited for his wife and two younger children to go inside. They all sat on the sofa, Joseph on Rafe's lap and Sarah on Evelyn's while they both explained about Danny.

"So Danny isn't our real brother?" Sarah finally asked. 

Evelyn hugged her daughter. She knew how close Danny and Sarah were and didn't want that to ever change. "Danny is still your brother Sarah, your real brother."

Joseph frowned. "Mama, if Daddy isn't Danny's real daddy then who is?"

Rafe took a deep breath and sighed. He looked at Evelyn as though to tell her, _I'll take this. _He hugged his youngest close to him and sighed again. "Your brother's daddy was my best friend, Danny Walker."

"That's why you named him Danny?" Sarah asked her mother.

"Mama wanted to name him after me but _I_ wanted to name him after Danny. That's why he's Daniel Rafe." He explained.

The children leaned back on their parents and they in turn tightened their hold on them. 

Sarah sighed and looked at Rafe. "Daddy, does that mean that Danny can't call you daddy anymore."

He hadn't expected that question. 

He could feel tears gather in the back of his eyes and blinked to clear them. "I know this is confusin' pumpkin, but Danny will always be able to call me daddy because I am."

Joseph's frown deepened. "I don't understand."

Rafe sighed again. "I was there the day your brother was born, just like I was for the two of you. I was there the first time he ever walked, the first time he said Mama."

"And Daddy." Evelyn reminded him with a gentle smile.

He grinned. "And Daddy. I was there when he lost his first tooth and when he learned to tie his own shoes. What I'm tryin' to tell you is that even though he ain't mine like you and your sister are, he's mine because I love him as much as I love the two of you."

That seemed to satisfy the children. 

"Daddy, is Danny going to be okay?" Sarah finally asked him.

"I hope so honey." He said.

The four McCawley's sat together in silence until Evelyn got an idea to go through the family photo albums. She had started them not long after she and Rafe had been married to pass the time while he was away from her. In the first album, she had pictures of her and the nurses and of Rafe and the other pilots. He told them who they all were and who had not come through the war. They had pictures from the nightclub in New York and of his time in England. Rafe and Evelyn were animated while they talked about that time, but became quiet when they talked about his being shot down.

That was where their lives had taken a turn neither had expected and where Daniel Rafe McCawley had come to be.

They looked at each other as they noticed a picture of Rafe and his best friend, Danny's father. The children sat forward as their parents explained who the tall young man was with the brown hair and serious look. "That's Danny, that's your brother's father." Rafe explained.

Joseph looked at the picture. "Danny don't look like him Daddy, he looks like Mama."

He smiled. "That's what I always told your Mama."

Sarah also looked at the picture and sighed, to Rafe it sounded just like Evelyn. "He looks so sad Daddy."

Rafe nodded. "Yea. Danny had a hard life until _his_ daddy died and he came to live with Gram and Gramps and me."

Evelyn opened the second photo album and there were pictures from the day she and Rafe were married by the Justice of the Peace, when she'd been pregnant with Danny. She looked at Rafe and they smiled at each other because it had been such a happy day for them both. The picture she saw in the album was of a radiant, if not rather large bride with the look of a woman deeply in love who stood next to her groom.

Sarah pointed to the picture. "That was Danny, Mama?"

Evelyn nodded. "And your daddy was with us before your brother was born." She told her daughter before she turned the page and saw pictures of a newborn Danny in his father's arms. 

The picture Rafe saw was of a new father that hadn't slept in twelve hours because his new son was colicky and he was trying to let his wife sleep. Barbara had taken that picture when she'd come over to the house to help. He smiled at the memory.

"What are you smilin' at Daddy?" Joseph asked.

"Your brother had a pair of lungs. When he cried, everyone on the base heard him."

"Rafe." Evelyn admonished him with a gentle smile.

He grinned back at her. "All right, maybe not the _whole_ base."

She shook her head and laughed. "Your daddy's just teasing."

Other pictures showed him as he fed baby Danny and as he gave him a bath. Rafe's favorite, though had been one that Evelyn had taken on a late afternoon when Danny was barely three months old. He'd fallen asleep on the sofa on the back porch of their house in Hawaii and the baby was asleep on his father's chest.

Evelyn had taken the photograph and had it blown up. For their first Christmas together, she had taken that enlarged photo and framed it for Rafe. It had sat on the bookcase shelf in Hawaii and when they'd returned to Tennessee, had been placed on the mantle over the fireplace.

They pored over the other albums until they heard the truck come up the drive. Rafe looked at his watch and realized it had been the better part of two hours that they had looked through all of the pictures. 

Thomas and Sarah McCawley came in behind their eldest grandson who glanced at the scene on the sofa.

"How was the picture son?" Rafe asked him.

Danny shrugged his shoulders. 

__

He looks like Danny when he does that. Rafe observed.

Thomas put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "I don't think it was quite what he was expectin'." And headed out to the kitchen.

"Haven't you eaten yet?" Sarah asked her son. "We've been gone for hours."

"We were going through the photo albums." Evelyn told her. 

"You must be starving." 

"Would you take the kids into the kitchen Mama? Evelyn and I would like to talk to Danny." And he lifted Joseph off his lap.

Evelyn did the same with Sarah. "We'll be in in a minute." And she patted the spot between herself and Rafe. "Come here for a minute son. Dad and I owe you an explanation."

Danny's look was a little dubious but did as his mother asked. _He looks just like Rafe when he does that_. Evelyn observed.

They sat quietly for a moment before Danny put his head on his father's shoulder and let out a sigh before he started to cry. "Just tell me why Daddy."

Rafe put an arm around his son's shoulders. "We will son, we will."

And after he sat up, Rafe and Evelyn McCawley had a talk with their son.


	3. His Father's Son

As the soft tones of conversation between Rafe and Evelyn's younger children and their grandparents drifted into the parlor from the kitchen, they tried to explain to their eldest son how he came to be.

Neither knew exactly how to begin and they looked at each other before Rafe finally took a deep breath and started. "I know you're upset with us Danny and I won't tell you that you shouldn't be. But your mama and I _were_ goin' to tell you when you were older."

For the first time in a week Danny McCawley looked at his father. "I don't understand any of this Daddy."

Rafe looked at Evelyn as he tried to decide how to tell his son about everything. Danny had always been devoted to his mother and he didn't want what had happened between Evelyn and Danny's father to change the way the boy felt about her. 

He knew he needed to choose his words carefully and didn't quite know how. So instead, picked up the photo album from their time in New York and began to tell Danny about it all. "I told your mama that I'd volunteered to go to England the night before I shipped out and didn't give her much of a chance to get used to it." 

Evelyn added. "I was so afraid for your dad because the time we'd had together was so short and I had already fallen in love with him."

Danny frowned. "Then how could you do what you did, with _him_?" He asked in reference to Danny Walker.

Evelyn flushed with embarrassment. It was a question she'd asked herself many times but it was also something that had happened and there was nothing she could do to change it. "Your dad had been shot down and we got word that he hadn't been found. I was devastated and wondered what I was going to do without him. Danny was your dad's best friend and my being able to spend time with him helped me feel closer to your dad."

Danny frowned. "Did you love him?" He asked.

She looked at Rafe. _He_ knew the truth, but she didn't know if Danny would understand. She and Rafe had always been truthful with their children, however, so Evelyn nodded before she sighed. "I did love him Danny, but not in the way I love your dad."

"I don't understand. You loved Daddy, but..." He couldn't seem to voice his troubled thoughts.

Evelyn was at a loss for words herself because she didn't know what to tell her son. "Danny..." Was all she could manage before she sighed. 

Rafe saw her struggle with what she wanted to say and looked at his son. "Danny, your mama thought I wasn't comin' home and she was tryin' to move ahead with her life. They didn't plan on what happened, but because of that we got _you_." 

"But if Mama loved you so much, then why?"

He remembered when he'd had those very same questions and understood his son's confusion. "Evelyn, Danny's old enough now that we should just tell him what happened."

"Rafe, I can't." She said quietly as two tears rolled down her cheeks. She _had_ loved Danny, but she had never been _in_ love with him and what had happened between them should never had happened. But it always came back to her that if they hadn't, she and Rafe wouldn't have their son. 

He nodded. It had been one thing for Evelyn to tell _him_, but to explain it to her son was a completely different matter. It came back to Rafe again to choose his words carefully and to make a long story short. "Your mama started to tell you about how bein' with Danny helped her feel close to me."

Danny nodded.

"She didn't know I was comin' back and wanted to write to your grandparents. So she went to the airbase to get the address from him. He asked if she wanted to go flyin' and when they got back things got a little out of hand and you were the result." He hoped it didn't sound too bad. 

Danny didn't seem to know what to make of it and sat quietly between his parents. "Did he know about me?"

"Yea, he did. Mama asked me not to tell him so we could concentrate on the mission but when I thought he might not make it, I told him. I hoped it would be enough for him to live even though _he_ knew it wasn't goin' to make it. He was dyin' and told me that I was goin' to be your father."

They had tried to be circumspect in how they told him but it seemed to be too much for Danny. He got up from the sofa and looked at Evelyn. "How could you do that to him?" He asked her as the tears welled up in his eyes and looked at Rafe. "I'm sorry Daddy." 

Evelyn could hear Danny try to hold the tears back as he headed up the stairs and when he turned the corner at the top, she fell apart. Rafe put his arms around her and tried to soothe her the way he always had when she'd been upset, but Evelyn was inconsolable. She knew the day would come when Danny would have to be told, but she'd never thought about what they would tell him. That feeling from all those years ago surfaced, the feeling that she'd been unfaithful to Rafe and it hit her like a broadside. 

Rafe looked up to see his two younger children in the doorway. They had never seen their mother cry and it was something he didn't want them to see. Thomas had come up behind them and with a look from his son, he nodded.

"Come on kids, let's go outside and leave your mama and daddy alone." 

"Why is Mama cryin'? Joseph asked his grandfather.

"We'll talk about it son, but let's go outside now." And he turned his grandson around and ushered him out the kitchen side door. Sarah followed him out with her namesake and Rafe and Evelyn were alone.

"Honey, we knew this wouldn't be easy but he needed to know." Rafe whispered into her hair.

Evelyn nodded. "It just brought back all those questions _you_ had and I didn't know how to answer them then."

He sighed. "He'll be all right Evelyn because he knows that we love him."

She sat up and sighed. "I know Rafe, but it's not that. It's that awful feeling that I had for such a long time that I'd been untrue to you."

He took her hands. "I love you Evelyn and every day that we've been married I love you even more. What happened between you and Danny is somethin' we can't change and I have never been angry that Danny don't have my blood. I do wish it had been _us_ that made him, but we've raised him together since the day he was born so that makes him mine."

"He _should_ have been yours because it should have been the two of _us_ that made him." And the tears came again.

For Rafe it was as though he and Evelyn had traveled back to that evening on the beach sixteen years ago when he'd returned from China. Her grief was as fresh as it had been then and it helped him realize that they had done a good job. They had put _her_ guilt and _his_ anger about the situation to rest and had raised Danny as _their_ son. 

He had pulled her to him again and began to rub her back. "You know as well as I do that we can't go back and change it, but we agreed then that we would stop lookin' back and start lookin' forward. That's what we have to do again, now that Danny knows the truth."

"You make it sound so simple." She pulled away and looked at him with red rimmed eyes.

"I know it ain't simple Evelyn. But we've built a good life for ourselves and _none _of our children have ever had any doubts how much we love them."

"I feel like we're going to have to start all over again. We got so used to thinking of Danny as really yours and forgetting how he came to be and now we don't have that anymore."

"That's true, but we don't have that secret hangin' over our heads anymore either." He reasoned.

Evelyn hadn't thought of that and she sighed. "When you put it that way..." Her voice trailed off.

"You're right about havin' to start over Evelyn, but now we can be a family with no secrets. Danny knows the truth about where he came from and he'll adjust because he knows that I love him as my own son."

"I've never thanked you for that."

"Yes you have. You've thanked me by lovin' me and lovin' Danny and givin' me two more children. I am a man blessed Evelyn and it's because of you that I have what I do." And he kissed her.

"I do love you Rafe and I am so glad to be sharing my life and my son with you." And she kissed him back.

"Our son." He corrected her with a grin.

She smiled back. "Our son."

He put his arms around her. "It's goin' to be all right honey, you'll see."

"I hope so Rafe, I really hope so."


	4. Rafe and Danny

The emotion of the day had taken its toll on Evelyn and Rafe took her upstairs so she could rest. When he'd closed their bedroom door behind him, he walked down the hall to Danny's room. He thought if it were just the two of them, he could explain things a little better. 

He knocked softly on the door and didn't hear anything so he opened it and Danny was face down on the bed. "Is it all right if I come in son?"

Danny rolled over and Rafe could see he was as upset as his mother was. He knew they were going to have to talk, mother and son, so he could hear her side of things. "But I'm not your son."

Rafe stepped into the room and pulled out a desk chair that had been tucked in and he sat down next to the bed. "Let's get one thing straight Daniel. You are _my son _and I've never thought of you as anythin' but. Am I makin' myself clear?"

Danny propped himself up on his elbows. "Yes sir. Do you ever see him in me?"

Rafe nodded. "I do sometimes, but I never dwell on it because what I see in you _more_ is your mama. You are a lot like her."

"Daddy, what was he like?"

"Danny was my best friend and we grew up together like brothers. He helped me get through school because I had trouble with my readin' sometimes and he went into the Air Corps with me and we became pilots for the Army."

"But what was he _like_?"

"He was quiet, a little serious and he liked to read. His daddy didn't treat him real good sometimes so he was over here a lot with us."

"Did he like to fly?"

"He did, but his feelin' about flyin' was different then mine. There was so much more to Danny than that and it makes me wonder sometimes how you got _my_ love of flyin'." 

"I still don't understand somethin'." Danny frowned.

"What's that son?" Rafe could sense what he was about to ask.

"If he was your best friend, how could he do what he did?"

Rafe sighed. "Danny fell in love with her, just like I did. What you need to understand is that one of the reasons they found each other was that they knew me and thought I was dead. I remember Danny tellin' me that it had gutted them both and I believe that. I didn't at the time because I was so angry with them both and I did the one thing that I've always regretted, I hit him."

"How could she _do_ that to you?"

"Son, it wasn't like she had been unfaithful. As far as she knew I was dead and she was tryin' to move forward with her life. She told you the truth when she said they didn't plan it and she told me that after it happened she wished it hadn't because things between them were movin' too fast."

"So if they hadn't done what they did, I wouldn't be here."

"That's right and I wouldn't trade havin' you in my life for anythin'."

"Thanks Daddy." Danny cracked a smile for the first time in a week.

That made Rafe grin back. "For what son?"

"For lovin' Mama and me so much."

"It's been real easy Danny." He got up and tucked the chair back in. "I want you to think about somethin' for me."

"What?" His son looked at him with curiosity.

"It wasn't easy for your mama to talk about all of that today because _we_ haven't talked about what happened between her and Danny since before you were born. We knew we'd have to tell you that I wasn't your real father when you were old enough, but it always seemed so far away. We never wanted you to find out the way you did and I'm real sorry about that."

"Daddy, why were you talkin' last week?" 

"Mama and I agreed after you were born that we would tell you in time and we keep talkin' about it while you were growin' up. We always waited until you kids had gone to bed or were outside before we would discuss anythin'. When we were talkin' last week, we didn't know you were upstairs."

Danny sat up on the edge of the bed. "But why tell me at all? If I hadn't heard you talkin', I never would have known." 

"Danny, what happened last week was what Mama and I were always afraid of. If it hadn't been us, it might have been your grandparents or anyone who knew what happened then. _We_ wanted to be the ones to sit you down and explain things when we were ready."

He nodded. 

"Have I made this any easier for you?" Rafe looked at him.

"Everythin' feels so different now." 

"That's only natural son. You found out somethin' about yourself you didn't know and it's goin' to take some time to get used to it." He tried to reassure the boy.

"Can I still call you Daddy?" And Rafe could see the tears well up in his eyes again, so he sat down next to Danny and put an arm around his shoulders.

"You can always call me Daddy because you _are_ my son, that will never change."

That did it and Danny put his arms around Rafe and cried. He pulled his son to him and held him as the anger and confusion about who he was took over. He was so much like Evelyn. "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too son, that will never change either." Rafe reassured him.

When Danny had collected himself Rafe stood up. "Why don't you go ahead downstairs. Supper's probably ready by now and I want to go check on your mama. She's had a tough week too."

Danny stood up next to his father and they walked to the door. "I never thought about how Mama feels about you. I could always see it in the way she looked at you."

"Then that's what you need to remember. Go on downstairs son."

"Are you comin'?" He asked as they walked toward the top of the stairs.

"I'll be down later." He told Danny as they stopped at his bedroom door. "Tell your grandmother that Mama and I will have supper later."

"All right Daddy." And he cracked a smile at Rafe before he headed down the stairs.

Rafe opened the door and he saw Evelyn curled up on the bed, her eyes closed. He walked over to the bed and curled up behind her and put his arm around her waist.

She stirred and sighed. "How is he?"

"He'll be all right honey. He's workin' through it." 

"What he must think of me." Evelyn said quietly.

"He's workin' through that too honey, just give him time. You told me that last week remember?"

"I remember."

"He'll be fine Evelyn, he's our son after all." He told her and sighed. "I told Danny to tell Mama we'd be down later."

"Thank you Rafe."

"You're welcome." And he pulled her against him as they went to sleep.


	5. Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was different for the McCawley's that year.

A family secret had finally been divulged. And while the relationship between Rafe and Danny McCawley was stronger than ever, the relationship between Danny and _Evelyn_ McCawley was tentative at best. He'd found it very difficult to understand what his mother had done and even though his father had encouraged him to talk to her, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Rafe knew that Evelyn was hurt, but she insisted that he not force Danny to talk to her when he was obviously not ready.

They talked about it as they took their evening walk around the farm. "He sees me so much differently now. All he understands is that he's here not because of you and I but because of someone else."

"But you're still his mama." Rafe frowned.

Evelyn stopped him with a touch on his arm. "But you're not his father the way he thought you were and that's my doing. Please don't be too hard on him about this Rafe, he needs time to sort it all out."

"Hell Evelyn, the boy's had a month to sort it all out. He knows that I don't feel any differently about him than I do about our younger ones."

She sighed. "But this isn't about _your_ relationship with him, this is about what he sees as his mother's infidelity. We have to face facts that things between Danny and I may never be the same."

"I won't accept that Evelyn. Danny is sixteen and old enough to understand that his parents are human. He needs to understand that what happened between you and Danny wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been shot down." 

She smiled at him. "Do you know how much I love you?"

He flashed a cocky grin and put his arms around her. "Yea. As I recall you showed me last night."

In spite of sixteen years of marriage and three children, Evelyn McCawley's cheeks flamed a bright red. "That's not what I meant."

"I know, I just like seein' you blush." And he kissed her.

"And you're not letting me finish." She said with a smile before she kissed him back.

He kept his arms around her as she continued.

"I love you because you've made this so much easier for me. You've told me since the day we were married that I make things so easy for you and I've never told you how you do that for me. If you weren't the man that you are, I might very well have ended up back in Philadelphia with my parents. I was so afraid at the time that's where I was going to end up and I had no idea what I was going to do."

"Would you have given him up?" Rafe had never asked her before because he wouldn't have let her leave Hawaii.

Evelyn nodded. "I wouldn't have had any choice, you know that. I would have been an unmarried woman with a baby on the way and no father in sight."

"As hurt and as angry as I was at first, I never would have let you go through that by yourself." He confessed. "I made a promise to Danny to be a father to his son and I loved you too much to let you go." 

"And I loved you too much to expect you to marry me for something that wasn't your responsibility." She said with a smile.

He flushed. "We fit Evelyn and we always have which is why we've been able to handle so much, together. I love you."

"I love you too Rafe." She said and he kissed her. 

When he let her go, her cheeks were the color of rose petals. Rafe smiled at that and Evelyn smiled back. "Rafe, are you really going to take Danny with you when you hunt for the turkey tomorrow?" 

"We sure are. It's been a McCawley tradition since I was a boy and I promised Danny when he turned sixteen that he could come with Daddy and me." 

She sighed. "It's a tradition I've never been happy with because your mother and I get to clean that bird after you've brought it home."

He grinned. "At least Daddy and I kill it for you."

"Thank goodness for that." She smiled and tucked her hand back through his arm. "Come on, we have a lot to do before tomorrow."

"Don't I know it." He said as they strolled back to the house, Evelyn's arm through Rafe's. When they reached the front porch Danny was on the swing. 

"As long as I can remember, you've always gone for a walk together after supper. I always wondered where you went and what you talked about." Danny commented.

"We talk about you kids, about your grandparents and how things are goin' around here." Rafe answered. "What are you doin' out here son?"

"I was waitin' for you and Mama to come back." Was all he told them.

Evelyn kissed Rafe's cheek. "I'll leave you two to talk." And she stepped up on the porch and headed toward the front door.

"I was hopin' we could talk Mama." Danny stood up and looked at Evelyn. "Daddy's been tellin' me that I need to hear your side of things and if it's okay with you, I'd like to hear it."

She looked back at Rafe, puzzled. 

He smiled back at her and nodded. This is what he'd hoped would happen and he also hoped his wife and his son would be able to mend their fences. If _he'd_ been able to forgive Evelyn and love her even more, he knew Danny could too. He stepped up on the porch and put a hand on Danny's shoulder and smiled. "Don't be too long son, we have to be up early tomorrow."

"All right Daddy." And Rafe opened the front door and walked into the parlor.

When the door closed behind him, Danny looked at Evelyn. "I haven't been real nice to you lately and I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to me Danny because I _do_ understand. You grew up with a father who loved you and never had any doubts that he _was _your father."

He sat down on the swing and pulled his jacket closer around him.

Evelyn sat down next to him and pulled her coat closer around her. It was cold and would get colder as the evening wore on. "What would you like to know Danny?"

"If Daddy hadn't gone overseas, would he have gone to Hawaii?"

She nodded. "He would have and we would have been inseparable. Danny, I love your father very much and other than you and your brother and sister, he's the most important person in my life."

"You missed him a lot didn't you?"

"I did, but as long as we wrote letters he wasn't so far away. The letters he sent were full of what he was doing and the weather and the missions he flew. He also told me he wished he could be with me and I wanted that so much. Then when Danny came and told me he'd been shot down and hadn't been found, I died."

"But why him, Mama?" Danny asked her quietly.

"Danny, sometimes we do things without thinking them through and after it's happened, wish we could take it back. What happened between Danny and I was something that should have happened between your dad and I before he shipped out, but he wanted to wait until he got home." She sighed. "Danny was sweet and caring and helped me through an awful time when I thought your dad was dead. I did love him, but it wasn't the love that I have for your dad and I could never have loved him the way he deserved to be loved."

"Would you have married him if he'd come back?"

"Yes." She answered simply. 

"Would you have been happy?"

Evelyn sighed again. "I think we could have been, but it would have been different from what we have now."

It was Danny's turn to sigh. "Then I guess we're pretty lucky to have Daddy aren't we?"

"We're very lucky Danny."

"I love you Mama."

"I know you do Danny and I love you too."

The front door opened and Rafe stepped out. "Ain't you two freezin'? It's colder than a witches elbow out here." He said with a grin.

Evelyn stood up. "We're coming Rafe." And she stepped around him and walked into the house.

Rafe stood on the porch with his son and smiled. "You have a good talk son?"

He nodded. "We did."

"You're just like your Mama, you don't waste words." He smiled before he and Danny walked into the house. 

They all had so much to be thankful for.


	6. Goin' Huntin'

She had no idea what time it was when she heard Rafe stir. 

From what she could see, which wasn't much because she didn't want to open her eyes, the sun wasn't even up yet. "What time is it?" She asked quietly.

"Time for you to go back to sleep." She heard his sleepy reply.

Evelyn smiled and opened her eyes as she rolled onto her side to see Rafe on his back, his own eyes closed. "You didn't answer my question."

She saw his eyes open as he looked at her and smiled back. "It's too early for me to be up that's for sure." He looked over at the clock on Evelyn's nightstand, closed his eyes again and sighed. "Oh my god, four o'clock."

There was a soft knock at the door and when it opened, Thomas was on the other side. "Time's a wastin' son."

Rafe opened his eyes and yawned. "I'm comin'." 

"Meet me downstairs in twenty minutes. Danny's already up and he's ready to go." Thomas informed him with a grin. "Unlike his daddy." And he closed the door.

"Tell me again why I'm doin' this?" He asked his wife.

"Tradition. And because your son has never been hunting with his father before."

He opened his eyes again and the look he gave Evelyn was dead serious. "I hate guns. I never gave them a second thought before I had to go to war and we were a hell of a lot luckier than those boys who had to fight on the ground were. We had our planes to do our fightin' for us, but after I came home from that raid I wouldn't have cared if I never saw another gun for the rest of my life."

He'd never told her that and she'd wager he'd never told his father either. "Then why do this?"

"You already said it, tradition. Besides, Danny's been lookin' forward to this for a long time and after everythin' that's happened to our family, I want somethin' normal."

Evelyn laughed softly before she put her arms around Rafe. "Going out in the pitch black to hunt for a bird you can't even see, that's normal?"

He put his arms around her. "You ain't bein' fair honey. I have to get up out of this nice warm bed and leave my beautiful wife to go stand out in the freezin' cold to find a damn turkey." 

She smiled and whispered in his ear, "I'll make it all worth it tonight."

Rafe pulled away from her and he flushed. "Are you suggestin' what I think you are?" He was stunned.

"I'm not suggesting anything, I'm making you a promise." She told him as she looked into his eyes. "Be the wonderful father that you are and take our son out hunting and I'll be sure that you're glad you did."

His surprise had worn off enough that he grinned. "You amaze me Evelyn."

"How do I do that?" She asked.

"You've always been the shy one, even after all the years we've been married. But every once in awhile, you take the lead and surprise the hell out of me."

"A little mystery in a marriage is always a good thing Rafe McCawley. And a few surprises don't hurt either." He started to pull her to him and she shook her head. "Let's not start something we can't finish. You've got two hunters downstairs waiting for you."

He let her go and rolled onto his back. "They can hunt without me."

She sighed because her husband was such a big baby sometimes. "You don't want to disappoint your son, so get yourself out of this bed and get dressed."

He nodded and slowly sat up. "There better be some strong coffee down there." He commented as he threw the blankets back and put his feet on the floor. "Damn, it's cold!"

"Of course it is, it's almost December." Evelyn told him and she laughed.

Rafe turned to look at her to see her in his bed and did not want to leave her.

Evelyn saw the look in his eye and she knew if she stayed where she was, he wouldn't get downstairs. So she sat up and grabbed her bathrobe from the foot of the bed and got up. She cinched the belt and slipped her feet into her old, beat up fuzzy slippers. "_Someone_ has to get out of this bed, so I guess it'll have to be me." She said with a smile. "Your mother is probably up too, so I'll go down and keep her company."

As she headed to the door, Rafe caught her from behind and pulled her against him. "Do you know how much I love you?" He said quietly.

Her smile got wider as she turned in his arms and put her arms around his neck. "As I recall, you showed me last night."

He laughed because he'd said the same thing to her the day before and made her blush, he loved to do that. He leaned over to kiss her and she tightened her hold around his neck. 

When he finally let her go, he grinned. "You better get downstairs Evelyn."

"Don't take too long." She told him as she let him go and headed to the door. 

By the time Evelyn got downstairs, she watched her son as he paced. "He's coming Danny."

Sarah was up as Evelyn thought she would be and had made breakfast for her husband, her grandson and her tardy offspring. "Where _is_ that boy of mine?" She said with a smile. "Good morning Evelyn."

"Good morning Sarah. He's getting dressed as we speak, at least I hope he is." She told Sarah as she glanced toward the stairs. "He was on his feet when I left him."

Thomas took a sip of his coffee and stood up. "I'll go see if he's _still_ on his feet." He glanced at Sarah. "This reminds me of those days when we had to get him out of bed for school and he always wanted five more minutes." And he headed toward the stairs.

Danny had followed Thomas out of the kitchen and walked into the parlor. Evelyn followed him. "Is everything all right?"

He looked at her and shrugged.

"Are you nervous about this?" She tried to coax an answer out of him.

"Everythin's different Mama." He said simply.

"And you're thinking that maybe we shouldn't be doing things the way we've always done?"

Danny looked at his mother and nodded. "Somethin' like that. I've been waitin' to do this for a long time and it ain't the same now."

"You're right about everything being different, except for how much your dad loves you. You're still dealing with all of this and it's going to take some time. But when you start feeling like you don't know who you are, take a look at that picture on the mantle of you and your dad when you were a baby. The one thing you need to remember is that he's always been here for the both of us and your brother and sister, too." 

"Mama, would it be terrible if I never wanted to know who Danny was?"

"I wouldn't close the door on the idea of getting to know something about him." Evelyn told him. "If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be here and I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"Daddy said the same thing." He sighed.

She thought she understood his concern. "Are you worried that if you wanted to know something about Danny you'd be disloyal to your dad?"

"Yea."

"That's something you never have to worry about Danny. In fact, this morning might be a good time to ask him."

"You think so?"

"I do. In spite of what happened, your dad misses Danny a lot and he hasn't talked about him much over these last sixteen years. Getting to know about Danny doesn't mean you love your dad any less, do you understand?"

He nodded. "I think so."

Thomas McCawley and his sleepy son interrupted them as they came down the stairs. "Well, I finally got this one dressed." He said with a grin.

"I was gettin' there Daddy." Rafe answered with a grin that matched his father's. "Mornin' son."

Evelyn watched Danny as he took in the scene between his father and grandfather. He turned to his mother and grinned. "Some things never change." 

Rafe put an arm around Danny's shoulders. "I hope not son." And they walked into the kitchen with Evelyn and Thomas right behind them.


	7. One In A Million

"Evelyn, you're not goin' to believe what happened!" An excited Rafe bounded into the kitchen. 

She and Sarah had just finished with the preparations and only waited for the hunters to return from what they hoped was a good trip. 

They had had to make due without a bird one year when the children were small because Thomas and Rafe had been unable to find a turkey. After that, Sarah had always kept a turkey in the freezer on the back porch, just in case. Rafe and Evelyn had both hoped it would not be necessary this year especially when this was their son's first time on a hunt.

"Honey, you're just not goin' to believe it!" He repeated and grabbed her hand. "You have to see this! You too, Mama."

They followed him out through the kitchen side door and walked to the truck. Thomas had his arm around Danny's shoulders and they both wore ear to ear grins.

Evelyn couldn't remember the last time her husband had been excited about a hunt and couldn't help but smile. "What's all the commotion about?" 

"My son got us the Thanksgivin' turkey!" Rafe grinned at her. "You should have seen him, it was a one in a million shot!"

"You'd have been awful proud of him Evelyn, he took down that bird as easy as you please." Thomas added. "I don't know who was more excited, _your _husband or _my_ grandson."

Danny started to flush as the praise was heaped on him and it again struck Evelyn how much he really looked like Rafe. He may have gotten her dark hair, or maybe it was Danny's, but he was in every other way Rafe's. He was a little reserved like she was around people he didn't know, but once he became familiar with them he was as outgoing as his father was. He had that same cocky grin too, and Evelyn knew he had already set some hearts aflutter at school. Danny, of course, had not told her that Rafe had. 

She looked at her son. "Well, let's see this magnificent bird of yours."

She and Sarah walked to the back of the truck just as the two younger McCawley's came around from the front yard. They saw all the excited adults and wanted to know what had happened. When Rafe showed them what their older brother had done, they were just as excited. 

Evelyn was so pleased to see her oldest with a smile on his face because since he'd found out that Rafe wasn't his father in the way he thought he was, his smile had nearly vanished. This morning before they had left the house was the first real smile she'd seen in the last month and she hoped this was a start to the healing process that would mend the rift that had developed.

Thomas looked at his oldest grandson. "Well Danny, you've brought home the turkey and now your daddy and I are going to show you how to get it ready for your mama and your grandma." And he hauled the turkey out of the back of the truck and handed it, feet first, to Danny.

Evelyn saw Danny look at his father with a look of hesitation. "Daddy?"

Rafe sighed, he'd never liked this part of it. "Come on son, let's get this over with." And he put a hand on his shoulder as the three McCawley's walked to the barn.

Sarah shook her head. "That boy may never eat turkey again."

Evelyn laughed softly. "He'll get used to it. I was a city girl before Rafe brought me here and it took me awhile to get used to the way you do things."

"I remember the first time we had bacon and you realized where it had come from, you couldn't eat it for a month." She recalled with a smile.

"I think it was that and the fact that I was pregnant with Sarah, only I didn't know it at the time."

Sarah smiled. "That's right, I'd forgotten about that. And I don't know that I ever told you how much it meant to me when you named her for me."

Evelyn put her hand on her mother-in-law's arm. "It was only right since you helped me when I had her."

"How are they doing with all of this?" Sarah asked.

"It's hard to say right now. They're trying so hard to be nice to Danny and I have to keep reminding them to treat him like they always have. Sarah's only twelve, but I think she really worries about him."

"That girl has _always_ been a worrier."

"I always thought that she would be closer to Joseph because they came so close together, but she and Danny have been the two that have been close." Evelyn commented. 

"He's her big brother Evelyn. If Thomas and I had been able to give Rafe a sister, he would have been the same way."

"I suppose you're right. I just don't want anything to change between any of them."

The two women walked back into the kitchen arm and arm and Sarah sighed. "Honey, things are bound to change even with all of Rafe's assurances that Danny is his son. But as long as we all keep loving him just like we always have, that will be the most important thing."

A moment Rafe came in with a worried look on his face. "I think we'll be havin' one less for dinner tonight."

"Oh, Rafe." Evelyn sighed. 

"He was doin' real well until Daddy..." He didn't feel he needed to elaborate.

"How is he?" Sarah asked him.

"He's feelin' like he let Daddy down." Rafe told her.

"Where is he?" Evelyn asked him.

"He's upstairs. He was too embarrassed to face you and Mama so he came in through the back door."

"You and Evelyn should go talk to him son. He needs to know that there is no shame in what happened, it's all a part of learning to live on a farm." 

"He should have been learnin' about all this when he was younger, but I kept puttin' it off."

"There's no shame in that either Rafe. Go talk to him." 

Evelyn looked at him and smiled. "You go on. He might be too embarrassed to talk if I'm there and I think he needs his father more than he needs me."

Rafe nodded and walked out of the kitchen toward the stairs. 

Sarah sighed. "No one can ever say that Rafe isn't that boy's father."

Evelyn sighed as well. "We never even considered what we were going to tell people."

"Why tell them anything Evelyn? It's no one's darn business who Danny's father is." She frowned.

"Sarah, we've had enough secrets. I don't want anyone in this family to feel they can't tell anyone."

She nodded. "I agree, but if the subject doesn't come up no one has to know." 

She looked at Sarah. "That's true."

"We're all facing a new situation honey and we'll figure out what to do as we go along. In the meantime, let's get ready for that bird." 

Evelyn nodded as she looked toward the stairs and hoped Danny would be all right.


	8. So Much To Be Thankful For

They were all together that Thanksgiving evening.

Rafe and Danny had had a long talk and he got his son to agree to come down for dinner. Thomas had carved the turkey in the kitchen because he did not want to upset his grandson any more than he already was. 

So as the turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce was passed around the table, Rafe and Evelyn looked at each other and knew they would always remember this holiday. They had so much to be thankful for and were glad that the secret they'd carried with them for the last sixteen years was finally out. Their biggest fear had not been realized, Danny loved his father more than ever and their two younger children felt no differently about their older brother than they had before. 

Evelyn could only hope that the whole thing had brought her three children closer together and if it had, she couldn't ask for more than that.

After dinner was over, Sarah had her two youngest grandchildren help her clear the table and clean up the kitchen. When they protested that Danny wasn't going to help their grandfather reminded them that if it hadn't been for their brother, there would have been no turkey. So while Sarah and her namesake and Joseph started to clear the table, Danny and his grandfather walked out to the parlor where Danny started a fire in the fireplace. Rafe and Evelyn followed them out long enough to get their coats on and head out the front door.

"Don't wander off too far son. Your mama will have pie and coffee in a little while." Thomas told him.

"We won't be long Daddy." Rafe promised. 

He waited for Evelyn to walk out ahead of him, then closed the front door. It was cold and he kept a tight hold on her hand as they began to walk and he sighed.

She put her head on his shoulder. "What's the sigh for?"

"I can't remember when we've had a nicer Thanksgivin'. I always worried what would happen when we told Danny everything because I didn't know how he would take it." 

Evelyn tightened her hold on his hand and nodded. "It was something that worried me too and I'm still not sure he's forgiven me for what happened."

"He's a good boy Evelyn. He knows what happened wasn't because you didn't love me, it was because you were tryin' to move on. He'll understand in time that if I could put it behind me and love you even more, he can too."

"I hope so Rafe." She said.

They continued to walk the dirt road around the farm and a memory came to Evelyn that she'd long forgotten. Rafe had brought her back to Tennessee after the war was over and she wasn't sure how his parents would receive her. They had only met once when Danny was a year old and she and Rafe had had their church wedding. They seemed to be very nice people but the fact remained that the son she had wasn't Rafe's.

She needn't have worried because once Rafe brought her home Evelyn had become a part of their family, as well as Danny. Thomas had taken to Danny immediately and Danny had taken to him. They were as close as any grandson and grandfather could be and perhaps closer because of the secret they all shared. Thomas and Sarah never wanted Danny to feel that they were not his grandparents, especially after the other children came along. 

"He asked me about Danny." Rafe's voice broke softly into her thoughts.

Evelyn looked up at him and could make out his profile in the moonlight. He looked so serious. "Are you all right?"

He nodded. "It's just been so long since I've talked about him and it felt strange talking to my son about his father."

"Your mother told me earlier today that we're facing a new situation and we'll figure it out as we go along." She sighed. "What did he ask you?"

"He asked what he was like when we were boys and why we went into the Air Corps. He asked me how I felt when I got to Hawaii and found out about the two of you."

"It was inevitable that he would ask you about that." And she sighed again. "Oh Rafe, all these questions to answer all over again."

He let go of her hand to put his arm around her waist. "I know this hasn't been easy for you honey and if I could turn back the clock a couple of months, I would."

"I know you would and I love you for wishing you could. But this was going to have to come out eventually and I'm just glad that it didn't hurt your relationship with him. That's what I was afraid of more than anything. You weren't to blame about what happened and I think part of me was prepared for him to hate me but if it had changed how he felt about you, I would never have been able to forgive myself. " 

"Well, everythin' turned out fine and Danny will adjust." 

She nodded as she tightened her hold around his waist and they strolled back to the house.

By the time they reached the front porch, Danny was there. "Gramps says to tell you that the fire is blazin', the coffee is perkin' and Gram's pie is ready to be eaten." He told them with a grin.

"That sounds fine son, lead the way." Rafe answered with a grin of his own and they followed Danny into the house.

The smell of fresh coffee lured Evelyn into the kitchen. Sarah sat at the kitchen table with a fresh cup of coffee in front of her and she looked absolutely exhausted. She told Evelyn that she and the children had put the kitchen back in order, but she suspected that Sarah had done most of it. They were nowhere to be found and Sarah told her she'd sent them upstairs to get ready for bed. "It's been a long day and they were up at the crack of dawn." She smiled.

Evelyn poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down next to her mother in law. "You were up before that Sarah, why don't you go upstairs yourself?"

"There's so much to get ready for tomorrow." She said.

"I can take care of that. I've watched you over these last thirteen years and I know what needs to be done." Evelyn offered.

"That is a very tempting offer Evelyn." Sarah admitted.

"Then take me up on it."

"I'll tell you what, I'll have my coffee and some pie then I'll head upstairs."

Evelyn smiled. "It's a deal."

It wasn't long before Thomas, Rafe and Danny walked into the kitchen. "All right mother, where is that pumpkin pie?" Thomas asked Sarah.

"On the back of the stove keeping warm and there is fresh whipped cream in the icebox."

"That's my girl." He said with a smile and he kissed her cheek. 

If Evelyn didn't know better she'd swear she saw Sarah blush. She'd never considered how an older married couple would be and it certainly never crossed her mind that a woman married as long as Sarah had been would react to an offhand compliment such as that. She did notice that Sarah's reaction did not go unnoticed by her husband and he grinned. "I can still make her blush every now and again."

"Take your son, your grandson and your pie out to the parlor Tom." She was flustered by the comment and that surprised Evelyn. Would she and Rafe be like that when they'd been married as long as his parents had been?

"You're really somethin' Sarah." He said and kissed her cheek again before he did as his wife had asked and took his pie and his coffee out to the parlor.

"That man." She said after he had left the kitchen.

"I think it's wonderful Sarah. It's so obvious he loves you." Evelyn observed.

"There is something about the McCawley men that when they love a woman, she's loved completely."

Evelyn nodded because she knew exactly what Sarah meant.

"And Danny will be like that too."

"But Danny's not a McCawley." She said without thinking and immediately regretted it, of course he was. 

Sarah smiled and laid her hand on Evelyn's. "Not by blood, that's true. But he's watched his father and his grandfather while he's been growing up and because of that, he'll treat the woman he eventually falls in love with the same way."

It was an odd thing for Evelyn to think about her son falling in love because he was still so young. "He's only sixteen."

"Tom knew he wanted to marry me when he was sixteen." 

"I didn't know that." Evelyn was amazed.

"Honey, you know how it is when you meet the right person. Some are just a little younger when they figure it out and Tom knew." She laughed at the memory. "Of course it took a lot of convincing _me_, but I came around."

"Rafe knew before I did."

"I wouldn't doubt it. My son has always known what he's wanted and he's usually gotten it." 

Evelyn smiled because _her _son was the same way. As she took a sip of her coffee, Rafe walked into the kitchen. "Mama, if you don't need Evelyn any more I thought we'd go upstairs."

She glanced up at him and the look in his eye told her what he had in mind. "Rafe we can't. I told your mother to go ahead upstairs and I would take care of things for her."

Sarah laughed. "You go ahead Evelyn, it won't take me long. But for now I think I'll join Tom and Danny out in the parlor and finish my coffee. Goodnight you two." And she kissed each of them on the cheek and gave them a hug before she picked up her coffee cup and walked out to the parlor.

Rafe and Evelyn were left alone in the kitchen and she could feel her face flush. 

He grinned and put his arms around her. "I seem to remember a promise this mornin' that if I went huntin' with my son, you'd make it all worth it. Or have you forgotten?"

"I haven't forgotten."

"That's what kept me from freezin' while we stood out there. And I've been waitin' all day to get you to myself." He admitted.

She couldn't help but laugh because she understood what he meant. "Me too."

"Well, hell." He said with a grin as he let her go and took her hand. "You really surprise me honey." He added as they went upstairs. 

Evelyn kept her promise that night and made the early hour of hunting that he'd had to endure all worth it.


	9. Homefront

__

Life was good, Danny Walker thought. Life was good for Rafe, for Evelyn and for his son. 

He'd spent many anxious hours in his usual spot as he had watched what had transpired on Earth, but he needn't have worried. Love had seen the McCawley's through the crisis and had brought them closer than ever. That made him happy and was glad that Danny and Rafe's relationship had not changed for the worst.

Anthony had urged him to talk to Evelyn and Danny was glad that he'd resisted the idea. In his heart he knew that this was something that they would have to figure out on their own and any interference from him would have complicated matters. 

One by one he saw the lights blink out around the McCawley home and he heard the soft laughter of Rafe and Evelyn. Their life really was good.

He didn't hear Anthony come up behind him. "You feel better now?"

Danny turned to him and smiled. "Yea. Rafe's been a real good daddy to Danny and I didn't want anythin' to change. I couldn't ask for a better Thanksgivin'."

"Well it's not quite over yet. There is a _huge_ turkey waiting for us and it's your turn to carve." Anthony grinned at him.

"I forgot about that. Did I tell you that Danny shot the turkey this year?" Danny smiled with a father's pride.

"Only about a hundred times."

He wasn't one to dwell on his situation, but Danny became serious because he couldn't help but wish it had been him and not Rafe that had been with his son when he'd bagged the turkey. "It should have been me."

"I know Danny." 

He hadn't realized that he'd said it out loud. "Oh hell Anthony, I shouldn't have said that."

"Why not? It's how you feel." 

"I know, but that ain't the point. Things are the way they are and Danny _is_ Rafe's son." He sighed.

"Do you ever think about what it could have been like if you'd survived?"

Danny nodded. "When we first got here and I met my son, I did. But the longer we were here and seein' what Rafe and Evelyn were goin' through because of what happened, I realized that they really were meant for each other. If I'd survived, Evelyn and I would have gotten married but I don't think she would have been as happy with me as she's been with Rafe."

"You don't know that Danny."

"Yea, I do. I ain't sayin' that she would have been _unhappy_ bein' married to me, but she didn't love me the way she loves Rafe. And knowin' that I can say it wouldn't have been as good for us. She deserved more than what I could have given her because I wasn't Rafe."

"You're a hell of a guy Danny." Anthony told him.

"Not me Anthony, it's Rafe. He's been raisin' my son and never once let him feel as though he was anythin' less than his own. He forgave Evelyn and me and honored me by givin' my name to a son that wasn't his." 

"You're still a hell of a guy. Come on, there's a turkey waiting for you to carve."

Danny clapped his friend on the back. "I don't think I've ever told you how much your friendship has meant to me since we've been here. We may not have agreed on a lot of things, but you've always been here when I've needed to talk to someone. Thanks."

It was Anthony's turn to sigh. "I know how hard it was for you to leave Rafe in that field and leave Evelyn with a baby on the way. I've never tried to _be_ Rafe, but we went through a lot together and you needed a friend."

"Let's go carve that turkey." He said with a grin and the two friends walked away.

For the first time in sixteen years, Evelyn McCawley didn't wake up with the thought in the back of her mind that she and Rafe would eventually have to tell Danny about where he came from, or rather whom he came from.

No matter how many times they had talked about it over the years, the time just never seemed right. They had even discussed the possibility that they would never tell him, but always nixed the idea. 

She often wondered if they'd done the right thing with Danny not being told about his father. It had been a strain on Rafe many times because he'd want to talk about his best friend, but it always brought them back to the fact that Daniel Rafe was not his by blood. But right or wrong they had done what they felt best for each other and Danny. 

The sun had started to peak through the window and she sighed. For the first time since Danny had overheard his parents, it felt as though they had turned the corner on Thanksgiving Day and Danny had begun to mend his fences with her. She looked at the clock on her nightstand and it was still early, too early for anyone to be up except perhaps Thomas. 

Rafe had inherited many wonderful qualities from his father, but being an early riser had not been one of them. He had always told her that he'd never been much good with the morning and when he'd been in the Air Corps he did it because he had to. "Being a civilian has its advantages." He'd always explained.

Evelyn smiled at the memory of that and looked over to see her husband still asleep. It was at times like this that she was so thankful to have him in her life. 

It was something she had never really thought about, but a question from her son had brought it home to her. How different would her life, and his, have been if Danny had come home from the raid and they had gotten married? She had told Rafe at the time that she was going to give Danny her whole heart and she would have tried her very best to do that. But she also knew that she could never have been as happy with Danny as she had been with Rafe.

"What are you smilin' at?" She heard her husband's sleepy voice. 

She turned her head to look at him and he had a grin on his face. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Honey, you know why _I'm_ smilin'." He told her.

"I have a vague idea." She said as she felt a flush start to creep across her face.

"That's what I like to see, my blushin' bride."

"I'm hardly a bride anymore Rafe. And as to my blushing, we won't talk about that." She felt her cheeks get warmer.

He pulled her into his arms and smiled. "It hardly seems like sixteen years does it?"

She snuggled up next to him. "No. So much has happened to us and in spite of how it started, I wouldn't change anything."

"Not anything?"

She knew what he meant. "I _do_ wish that Danny had been yours but when I think about it he really is, in spite of how he came to be."

"I'm just glad the whole thing ain't a secret anymore. Danny knows the whole story and he still loves me and still thinks of me as his daddy. I can't ask for more than that."

"We really have been blessed Rafe. We have each other and our children and as you said, no more secrets."

There was a soft knock at their bedroom door and Danny stuck his head in. "Gramps said you'd still be in bed." He told his father with a grin. "You promised me we'd go flyin' today."

Rafe looked at Evelyn. "I knew there was a reason I was awake." He looked at Danny. "Give me twenty minutes son and I'll meet you downstairs."

Danny looked at his wristwatch. "Twenty minutes Daddy." His grin got wider as he closed the door.

"That boy's really somethin'." Rafe told her as he threw the blankets back and put his feet on the floor. "Damn, it's cold!"

A half-hour later, Evelyn stood on the front porch and watched as Danny started up the engine of the old crop duster and Rafe sat behind him in the co-pilot's seat. He guided the plane down the dirt runway as his daddy had taught him and it lifted into the early morning sky.

Nothing had really changed. 

__


End file.
